they are looking for a leader to give them direction and ideas. mousavi has filled that role, but his ability to communicate is being shut down. crowns are being prepared for his arrest. he might be pushed off the stage. -- crowns are being prepared for his arrest. there things you can do that do not invite retaliation. one is the shot in from the rooftops, shouting allah is great as an act of defiance. people are driving with headlights. but it is more and more dangerous. homes are being identified the lead these shouts. the break-in and arrest these people at night. in the long term, what could be most effective would be successful general strikes. . .

this article just cannot. host: let us hear from our guests. guest: that is a serious allegation. there are many conspiracy

theories going on around the world. is there going to be a war with iran? whatever the suppression. the united states was supportive of democracy and was not willing to confront the regime directly. the threat with iran is there a possible acquisition of a nuclear weapon and a willingness to use it. if those judgments in israel and the united states, but also in other parts of the world, in france, britain, if those judgments are that i ran is out of control, dangerous, prone to violence, something may be done -- some type of greater action to stop denuclearization of iran. host: the person was touching on outside influences. other muslim countries such as saudi arabia could have an influence on iran.

guest: right now, very little. in the philippines, will lead to a successful revolution was that a leader lost popular support. i do not think there is any country in the world that has a degree of influence in iran that we had to the philippines. an outsider is. to be able to intervene. the iranian people need to work out this on their own. host: we have someone on the democrats' line. good morning to you. caller: hello, i got in on the wrong question. into this one. -- answer this one. i think obama should follow the plan he has set. he has the young people on his side. he had these townhouse meetings -- town hall meetings for the

people. you could tell by the faces of the people, that they loved it. they were throwing questions to him. the air iranian people see that. they want their own type of town hall meeting. they want to have a say. they cannot. they will do this if everybody stand back and let them go at it and stop trying to make obama create a problem. he needs to not start another war. back to the other question the, the media are -- is in love with him. that -- there is a company that follows with the story is. as soon as something bad happens that they can go after obama, they will be after him like white on rice. guest: i think obama has done the right thing.

the best thing obama can do to support freedom around the world as well as in iran is to be an inspirational figure, to really articulate the ideas of freedom and liberty and those values, and make it clear that we share them. we are in sympathy with people, muslim, christian, anywhere in the world. people who want freedom and are fighting for ideals that america as a country and as a people care about -- at the same time, we need to respect the sovereignty of other nations. we need to make very careful judgments about the degree to which we can or should get directly involved. host: there is a piece in the new york times weekend review. it shows a man who is protesting. some regimes are brittle in the face of popular pressure. others are not.

if some regimes are simple tierney, the system can be complex and opaque. anything you want to add their? guest: sometimes repression works. it is well coordinated and the regime remains unified and the military is willing to support the regime, then repression can triumph over popular protest. host: more about history. a question from twitter. what is the worst regime change you can recall? guest: revolutionaries taking vengeance or the government shooting revolutionaries? the russian revolution was probably the bloodiest. in the ensuing civil war not the immediate takeover. four years of civil war that

tore the country apart and killed hundreds of thousands or millions. on the other side, some of the hardest oppressions recently were in vermont. the attack of the democracy movement there. it simply destroy to that movement. host: chicago, independent caller. caller: hello. i wanted to ask how you think barack obama is handling this issue versus george bush. -- george bush, and to do you think -- host: let us move onto a republican callers in cedar creek. caller: i am putting together a package that i will send to the military of south korea.

my suggestion to him in is a tube that has pictures of their nightlife and markets. i realize that when they send balloons over to north korea from south korea, they are told not to touch it, because it will give them diseases. like the christmas cards to you by the has music playing, had a message there. if we wanted to kill you, this would be a bomb -- it would cost several millions dollars. [unintelligible] whenever you kill, somebody on one side of town -- that opens the opportunity for one of your relatives to be killed on the other side of town.

host: any comments? guest: the iranian regime was formed in parts of the united states. those who were trying to create change are worried that they will be tarred with a certain image. george bush by asking congress to vote moneys specifically to support those seeking democratic change in iran created a problem for them, because now they look like they are agents to the u.s.. the bush policy regime change made it difficult. obama has dropped that policy. we are not asked to change the regime. the iranians want change, we welcome what they choose for themselves. host: back to this headline. one foreign secretary say the government is deeply concerned. why would these british embassy employees and be concerned?

what does this mean? guest: there is no u.s. embassy in tehran in more. -- any more. the british are the next best target that is available to show the discontent. the regime has tried to blame everything, protest, outsiders, and others. host: here is another question emailed in. how can mr. kohl stunned describe the events in iran in the past -- how can mr. goldstone describe the events in iran in the past few days? guest: what i mean is a sudden power grab by one group, usually the military, at the expense of

the government. the existing government ahead views on moderate and conservative groups. the military has been taking more and more positions. in this case, by using the election to try and create a crushing victory for op and the shot and to suppress any opposition, the military is trying to do away with any remaining influence. host: out as a military structure there? guest: the overall structure is the garden, five -- guard, five divisions, army, navy, air force, coastal, and the militia. these are young people who are trained. they often in role as teenagers. it is like a revolutionary youth group given training and weapons in use primarily for crowd

control and combating domestic threats. in this case, it is the protesters. host: the melissa turns a strong. the heroic image fades. we are taking a look at the headlines this morning. cincinnati is calling. on the democrat line. caller: the morning. a question is how the media has portrayed this struggle. it seems like there is a tendency in this country to view issues in black-and-white, good and evil. it is not clear to me that there is clear evidence that the regime is oppressive and is unpopular. could not it be true that there is support for this regime in general? if not, can you talk to that?

guest: the media does like a heroic story and is willing to simplify to create heroes and villains. what is important in iran is to see the three generations in a vault -- there is an older generation that grew up and fought for the 1979 islamic revolution. they want the principles of that revolution including its popular support, republican forms of government, part of the system along with the clerical role. they want to see an ironic that is integrated with the world. -- c. and iran that is integrated with the world. then there is the generation that fought in the world with iraq. there were famous for their sacrifice during that time. the veterans of that war feel they fought for iran, and they made the sacrifices. the world is dangerous and

hostile. that group in the military and in politics is pushing for a more aggressive nationalist militarize iran. then there is the youngest generation, people under 30, who simply want more personal freedom, more equality for women. they are more educated. they see the kind of harsh rule imposed by war veterans. the regime does have considerable -- considerable support from the military and the militia, and from those who still feel the world is a threatening place, and iran has to be strong. host: be read about the domestic economy have been all sorts of problems. following that line of thought, you mentioned the potential for a general strike. that could trigger regime change. an economic tactic. guest: unemployment is very high particularly among the young.

young, educated people who feel the doors of opportunity are closing on them -- the regime controls a great deal of the economy. they control oil. about half of the economy is controlled by foundation. the foundation is under the direct control of the supreme leader. they would be hurt very badly if ordinary iranians went on strike and shut these enterprises down. host: here is a new york times headline the sunday morning. after weeks of rallying, disbelief of what is happening inside the about what might happen next. we have a tweed that has come in. what happened to that of iranian diplomats that president bush had not arrested in iraq? guest: i do not know where they are right now.

the issue of back-and-forth diplomatic test is an old ploy. the point you made earlier about the shot is more important. ordinary iranians still believe until this week that even though their choices were limited, they would be allowed to have a say. the allegis would matter. -- the elections would matter. they had a previous job. that was -- vote that was for their previous leader. to find out that the results were unexpected, but that the regime would not allow any protests has been a profound

shock. host: california, republican line. caller: you need to go to presstv.com/ . they give you some real news. what the leader did say is that israel is going to self- destruct. he is right. we are finding all of these wars in the middle east. apac is pushing us into a war with iran. this is very dangerous. i think -- they want an excuse to go in and fight the a iranians. they needed to protect themselves. what motivated the 9/11 attacks was our support -- u.s. support

for israel. you can see that what motivated the 9/11 attacks on the website. guest: press tv has some good coverage. it is not an official media arm of the iranian government. i do not think one can say that it presents the whole truth. it is presenting the views that the regime want people to see. over the longer term, we have to remember that the government of iran has been calling on the u.s. and great britain for 30 years. we have done everything we can to avoid conflict or war with iran. i do nothing that changing now. what is possible is that the tensions between israel and iran will escalate. you have to be careful about his pronouncements. he says different things at home that he says for the western press. he is more moderate when talking to western newspapers.

at home, he is much harsher when talking about the need to attack and destroy the west and attack israel. host: what is the israeli government viewpoint on this? guest: they have expressed their anxiety and concern. they have said these events of the last couple of weeks have showed that the government of iran is not a legitimate government. they have shown themselves as a brutal government. if this government is willing to do this to its own people, should them in the streets, prevent them from peaceful protest, does not this mean this regime might also be very dangerous in the international arena? israel is saying that we were right to caution you about iran. it is not a b gene that is going to be easy to deal with. host: james from georgia on the independent line. caller: do you think it will

ever be possible to shift the balance of power in iran? guest: i do not think it will be possible to shift the balance through elections. the regime has shown that the only result you'll get from elections are the results the regime wants. i do think something like what happened in poland where it took six months of strikes around the nation to force the regime to negotiate, and then the polish regime agreed to have elections. those elections had surprising results that led to solidarity gradually taking control of the government. i do not think that will do it alone. perhaps a campaign strike could force the government to negotiate or create more ballot elections. i do not see that happening right away. that is probably months and possibly years away. host: what other protesters

around the world might be watching this particular situation in iran? what other countries might you be looking at now? guest: i have seen statements on the web regarding dissidents in egypt. we admire that you are able to go out and protests for democracy. that was before the brutal suppression of the last few days. democracy as it gets around in the middle east was very encouraged initially. now i think it is becoming the view that middle east governments are harsh to democracy. nothing we can do can change at right away. host: we have someone calling on the democrats' line. caller: the morning. i had this idea for the last couple of weeks. just as martin luther king took lessons from gundy and his struggle for civil rights -- ghandi and his struggles for

civil rights, i think iran could take the same lessons. i remember the iconic photos and films of the alabama protest and the civil-rights protests. i remember ghamdi pantages people -- ghandi and his people sacrificing hundreds of lines for machine guns to gain independence. i think -- the iconic photo of a young student being slain. i compare that to the point of a person being cradled in the arms of iran. those are the kinds of images that will turn not just heads of around the world, but also create a pressure on the brutal regime.

any thoughts on that? guest: i agree with you that learning lessons on how to make non-violent protests more effective is key to the iranians being able to keep pressure on the regime's. the government is aware of the old tactics. this government has tried to preempt protests by filling public squares with police before demonstrators can get there. they are blocking communications. perhaps sit end in mosquessit- ins in m -- sit ins in mosques. the protesters have to figure out how to get one step ahead of the regime. i think you are right that this is like the civil rights movement. but the civil rights movement in the united states was much more open country which took years to

reach fruition. host: next call, england. caller: i just wanted to say i was in iran as a tourist. we used to go there quite often to see the country. it was a beautiful place with a wonderful culture. i can only go by my own experience. we went to teheran. it is a lovely country. i do not necessarily agree that [unintelligible] i think the government may be restricting things in some ways.

some people were not allowed weregaza. -- allow ited in gaza. they're not allowed to report. i do not think we should interfere in other countries. we would not like it if they told us what to do. guest: i do not think we should interfere either. we should recognize that the regime has really shut down all kinds of expression. if it really was the case the election was a valid landslide for the winner, why not respond to the protesters by inviting an international team to come and verify the ballot. instead, every international journalists has been forced out of the country, prevented from

reporting, threatened with arrest. domestic journalists have been arrested. this is not a regime that seems to be willing to allow an even- handed examination. you are right about iran. it is a beautiful country with a great culture. it has a great philosophy and poetry. the same thing is true of germany. people in the 19th century looked at germany for some of their poets. there was a strong inflows in germany. iran is the same way. it has a rich tradition, and grant a loss of becoming a beautiful country. many philosophers -- a grante philosophy -- grand philosophy and a beautiful country.

many philosophers are there. host: we have a call on the republican line. caller: my comment is during the campaign, president obama said we will work in a different direction. we will work with our allies. i have not seen that. he has been on a couple of foreign trips to galvanize that. i have not seen him leverage the un and bring the community together. i have seen more of a pullback. i am also seeing repeated history with the i iranian paramilitary. . it is similar to the hitler regime. it will be interesting to see the road ahead for the iranian people.

i think the elections were rigged. doesn't follow the chinese model during the t in a men's wear -- tiamen square? have you see the international environment putting more pressure on iran? guest: i do not think the muslim population is going to hamstring europeans. they've been more outspoken than the united states in denouncing the repression in iran. obama's moves and work our relationship to iran, this election comes as a surprise. united states has been out front in denouncing violence in places like sued on. we have stepped up our confrontations with north korea. denouncing violence in places like sudan.

we have stepped up our confrontations with north korea. obama came into office saying, if we are going to be effective in dealing with the iran country and getting some possible changes there, we have to establish some type of dialogue insulation. that was then. now we have this regime acting with terrible brutality. we are not in a position to say we had good relations with the before, now we are going to add the sanctions and pull back. we had nothing before. the question now is can we still go forward and try to establish relations with the hope of moderating the regime's behavior? or do we say this is a regime is not a good concept, and we can no longer deal with them. it is important to do as little as possible right now. where is the